Judge lets Texas cut Planned Parenthood funds

AUSTIN – Texas can bar Planned Parenthood from a program that provides contraceptive and health-screening services to low-income women, at least for now, under a Monday ruling by a state district judge.

Planned Parenthood - whose lawyer has contended some women will die without its participation in the program - said it will keep up its court fight and continue to serve clients.

"It is shocking that once again Texas officials are letting politics jeopardize health care access for women. This case isn't about Planned Parenthood. It's about women like Marcy Balquinta, who rely on us for basic, preventive health care," said Melaney A. Linton, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

"Regardless of what happens in the courts, Planned Parenthood will be here for our patients," Linton said. "Our doors remain open today and always to Texas women in need. We only wish Texas politicians shared this commitment to Texas women, their health and their well-being."

Balquinta, of McAllen, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. She said in a statement that the care she has received has been important while she has been finishing school and working on career goals.

"Without the affordable care I receive through Planned Parenthood and WHP (Women's Health Program), I would have to make tough decisions between paying for my cancer screenings and birth control, or buying groceries or gas for my car," she said. "If I couldn't go to Planned Parenthood, I don't know where I'd turn. And there are tens of thousands of Texas women like me."

Perry hails the ruling

Gov. Rick Perry, who has championed the exclusion of Planned Parenthood clinics, said the ruling "finally clears the way for thousands of low-income Texas women to access much-needed care, while at the same time respecting the values and laws of our state. I applaud all those who stand ready to help these women live healthy lives without sending taxpayer money to abortion providers and their affiliates."

Monday's ruling was the latest move in a long-running court battle between the state and Planned Parenthood.

WHP in Texas largely has been funded by the federal government, but the state is due to take over responsibility for its finances on Tuesday.

That is because the state is excluding Planned Parenthood clinics under a ban on affiliates of abortion providers. The federal government, which had covered 90 percent of the program's nearly $40 million annual cost, has said its rules do not allow the exclusion.

Visiting Judge Gary Harger denied Planned Parenthood's request for a temporary restraining order to allow its continued participation in WHP pending another court hearing before another judge on Jan. 11. Harger wrote that Planned Parenthood failed to demonstrate that it would suffer an immediate and irreparable injury from being excluded from the program.

Planned Parenthood's lawyer, Pete Schenkkan, said in court last week that some Planned Parenthood clinics would close if the organization lost program funding. He said other Planned Parenthood clinics would have to start charging for services that women now receive free through the program. He said that would cause women of limited means to begin rationing health care, and that some cervical or breast cancer cases would not be caught as early as they now can be. "Some of those women will die," he said.

Enough providers?

Schenkkan has raised doubts about whether there are enough providers to care for the 48,000 women who have been going to Planned Parenthood, out of 110,000 in the Women's Health Program.

Linda Edwards Gockel, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, emphasized that women will not have to pay for covered services if they go to another WHP provider. She said the commission has sent three different notifications to program clients who have received services through Planned Parenthood to explain how to find a new provider.

"We have more than 3,500 doctors, clinics and other providers in the program and will be able to continue to provide women with family planning services while fully complying with state law," Gockel said. "We welcome Planned Parenthood's help in referring patients to providers in the new program."